Appoint A Superintendent?

Florida is one of the few states in the country that allows it's voters to elect their school superintendent; a practice that one group in North Central Florida would like to see change.

The Marion County School board was presented with the benefits of having an appointed superintendent on Tuesday. Vernon Murray feels that if a superintendent is appointed, he or she will be more accountable to the school board and therefore do a better job. He says also, they will not be concerned with getting re-elected. Perhaps his main argument is that Marion County is a lot more diverse than it once was and needs a leader that understands that diversity.

Marion County School Board member Sue Mosley comments, "You might get some really excellent applicants but then again on the other side of the coin, you are going to have to pay more money. It will be a large salary for an appointed superintendent so there's tremendous buyout clauses if you're not happy with the person you hired."

Vernon Murray Concerned Citizens of Marion County, "We definitely have a good system but do we want to stop there? Or do we want to do like other school systems in the nation and become a great school system?"

This proposition was on the ballot in 1993, but was voted down . The school board will hold a work session to further discuss this idea of whether or not it should go on the ballot in '08. If voter's vote yes., you could see an appointed superintendent as early as 2012.